User:Fehufanga/Marius

Jean Marius (died 6 April 1720) was a French inventor and keyboard instrument builder.

Biography
Not much is known about Marius' life. He had a degree in law, was skilled in mathematics, and was an adjunct mechanic in the French Academy of Sciences. His name first appeared in 1699, on a certificate of approbation for his folding harpsichord. His store was located on the rue des Fossés Saint-Germain.

Inventions
Marius invented the folding umbrella's mechanism, which is similar to the one used in the modern era. It can be carried in a pocket and weights five to six ounces. Impressed by his invention, King Louis XIV granted Marius a royal privilege for his folding umbrellas in 1710; nobody was allowed to manufacture a similar product for five years. Two of his folding umbrellas survive.

Marius is credited folding harpsichords, though Giovanni Pietro Pinaroli cites Giuseppe Mondini as having invented a folding harpsichord before him. The composers Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers, François Couperin, Nicolas Lebègue and Jean-Baptiste Buterne signed a letter of approbation for Marius' folding harpsichord in 1699. The academy gave its approbation on 24 January 1700. He obtained a 20-year patent for the instrument on 18 September 1700. Marius had to contend with the Parisian guild of instrument builders' accusation that his invention was not original.

In 1716, Marius submitted a design for a clavecin à maillet.